This invention relates to colored, dyed stretchable material arranged solely to form display indicia including, but not limited to, representations of national colors and flags, school colors and flags, team colors, colors commonly associated with special occasions such as birth of a baby, holidays, and weddings, as well as various fanciful designs, trademarks, and the like, on the front side of an exterior side-view mirror housing of cars, trucks, and other vehicles.
The art of displaying indicia on various parts of a motor vehicle spans to as early as the 1930s. However, the forward-facing side of a vehicle exterior side view mirror has not been used for such displays. Reasons for this include:                1. the requirement that a device to form display indicia fits a variety of sizes and shapes of side view mirror housings, also satisfying the marketing criteria that the device is simply constructed, easy to install, and reasonably priced;        2. the requirement that the device will not obstruct the mirror viewing surface, which could present a danger to driving the vehicle;        3. the requirement that the device withstands the effects of high speeds shifting its position, falling off, or making undesirable noise; and        4. the requirement that the device withstands the effects of the elements without undue deterioration.        
Also, market preferences include that a device is fully and easily removable from a mirror housing.
The present invention, as differentiated herein from the references provided below and other devices known to those skilled in the art, satisfies these requirements. Accordingly, the present invention advances the field of arranging colored, dyed stretchable material to form display indicia on motor vehicles, in particular on the forward-facing side of a vehicle side view mirror.
One example of an early reference is Failing, U.S. Pat. No. 1,820,788. Failing disclosed an automobile identifying device that covered part of an automobile headlight. The device was comprised of a panel, which carried an identifying legend and extended across the face of the headlight, and a body adapted to overlap part of an automobile headlight to secure the device to the protruding headlight. Both parts were of stretchable and substantially transparent material.
Blonkvist, U.S. Pat. No. 2,182,275, disclosed a combination of a rearview mirror and a sign. The indicia on the sign faced inward, toward the driver, and the device was directed specifically to a rearview mirror situated inside the vehicle. Abrams, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,355, disclosed a sign to hang onto a vehicle rearview mirror, hanging from the structure that supported the mirror, with the sign facing frontward.
Bane, U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,141, disclosed a vehicle rearview mirror cover that comprises (1) a unitary, generally concave body, which includes a back surface and a socket (the latter being the interior of the semi-rigid concave body), and (2) an indicia means. The device fits over the back of a rearview mirror housing, and the device's shape is dictated by the housing shape. As disclosed and subject to this requirement, the device is semi-rigid.
The above patents are directed to rearview mirrors inside of a vehicle. They do not deal with the wind, weather, and other factors that affect the present invention, which is directed to a side view mirror disposed on either exterior side of a vehicle. Other inventions are directed to exteriorly mounted mirrors, including side view mirrors. However, none are directed to the attachment to the mirror housing and the display of indicia as disclosed and claimed herein.
For instance, Smith, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,157, teaches a removable cover to protect the exterior exposed surface of an automobile exterior mirror housing. The objective is to protect the surface from the elements, and from receiving scratches, etc. The device forms a pocket over the entire exterior mirror housing surface, with an open end around the actual mirror surface to allow viewing. Most of the border of the pocket's open end is defined by an elongated seam that snugly engages the mirror housing surface that surrounds the mirror surface. No claim is made to the presence or attachment of any indicia.
Lambert et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,488, disclose and claim a device for outside mirrors in which an open mesh is used as a shade screen for night driving to reduce the intensity of light from following vehicles. The objective, and limitations, including the means of attachment, differ from the present invention.
Strode et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,918, disclose and claim a foundation device for displaying indicia on an exterior mirror housing of a motor vehicle, said foundation device comprising a base of stretchable material comprising at least one art attachment area and, in some embodiments, an attached indicia platform bearing indicia, for displaying said indicia. No claim is made to use stretchable material, without an art attachment area, solely to form, rather than to hold, indicia. Further no claim is made regarding indicia that substantially conform to the complex three-dimensional curvilinear shape of many vehicle exterior mirrors.
McCambley et al., in provisional application for patent dated Feb. 7, 2002, disclose a removable cover displaying a decorative, promotional or advertising design indicia, which substantially covers the outside housing for the vehicle side-view mirror. No disclosure is made regarding a cover which only partially covers the outside housing for the vehicle side-view mirror.
Descriptions of other inventions generally in this area are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,910,503, 1,927,913, 5,598,653, 6,003,996, and Belgian Patent No. 566,213.
The present invention satisfies the requirements noted above for forming display indicia on an exterior side view mirror of a vehicle. Although motorized vehicles have been in common use for almost a century, the inventor is unaware of a device such as the present invention that, in one embodiment, is designed solely to form display indicia that substantially conform to the complex three-dimensional curvilinear shape of many vehicle exterior mirrors. The references cited do not address the problem solved by the present invention, and in contrast, these references relate to different objectives, employing different limitations in their devices.
The present invention is well suited for mass-production and scale-up techniques.